Huckabee Pursues Unconventional Ways to Fund a Campaign

In a wood-paneled study lined with books and framed family photos, the prospective presidential candidate looks into the camera. “I’m Mike Huckabee,” he says with all the folksy charm that propelled a career as a preacher, politician and broadcaster.

But this is no campaign ad. It is an Internet infomercial for a dubious diabetes treatment, in which Mr. Huckabee, who is contemplating a run for the Republican nomination in 2016, tells viewers to ignore “Big Pharma” and instead points them to a “weird spice, kitchen-cabinet cure,” consisting of dietary supplements.

“Let me tell you, diabetes can be reversed,” Mr. Huckabee says. “I should know because I did it. Today you can, too.”

The American Diabetes Association and the Canadian Diabetes Association caution against treatments like the one peddled by the company Mr. Huckabee represents.

As Mr. Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Fox News host, contemplates jumping into the Republican field, he is haunted by his first presidential try in 2008, when he won the Iowa caucus on a populist wave, but eventually sputtered out largely because of money shortages.

Even as he seeks to put the ghosts of 2008 behind by winning over major Republican donors, he has pursued some highly unconventional income streams — not just the diabetes endorsement, but selling ads on email commentaries he sends to thousands of his supporters.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Huckabee declined to say how much he earned from these efforts. But she said he had broken off as a spokesman for the diabetes cure a couple of weeks ago, suggesting concerns that the unusual endorsements may appear un-presidential.

Indeed, Mr. Huckabee risks being viewed by voters less as someone who aspires to be seen as presidential timber, than among washed-out candidates of the past, like Bob Dole, who went on to make Viagra ads, and former Senator Fred D. Thompson, who pitches reverse mortgages.

One ad arriving in January in the inboxes of Huckabee supporters, who signed up for his political commentaries at MikeHuckabee.com, claims there is a miracle cure for cancer hidden in the Bible. The ad links to a lengthy Internet video, which offers a booklet about the so-called Matthew 4 Protocol. It is “free” with a $72 subscription to a health newsletter.

Another recent pitch sent out to Huckabee’s supporters carried the subject line “Food Shortage Could Devastate Country.” It promoted Food4Patriots survival food kits, described as the “No. 1 item you should be hoarding.”

Although a disclaimer on the emails says Mr. Huckabee does not endorse these products, that might not be enough to dissociate him, as a future presidential aspirant, from their claims, which are designed to pry open the wallets of small-donor conservatives, some of whom distrust mainstream sources of information.

“This is a plague on conservatives,” said Erick Erickson, the founder of the influential blog Red State, who has criticized ads for products and outside political groups that he calls “hucksters,” which prey on conservatives.

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A screen shot of an ad featuring Mike Huckabee endorsing a diabetes treatment.

While a radio or TV host might not be able to choose his sponsors, Mr. Huckabee can presumably pick who he sells space to on email commentaries. “I don’t know that a potential presidential candidate should be running survival food ads,” Mr. Erickson said.

In his diabetes video, Mr. Huckabee promotes the “Diabetes Solution Kit,” a $19.95 booklet with advice on eating, exercise and dietary supplements. “Just sit tight,” he says in the two-minute, 40-second pitch, “because in a moment, a free presentation is coming up.” He promises it will reveal “all the natural secrets that are backed by real science that really work.”

But rather than science, the second, lengthier video peddles a diabetes “cure” consisting of cinnamon and chromium picolinate. Both the American Diabetes Association and the Canadian Diabetes Association warn that dietary and herbal supplements are ineffective for treating diabetes, which is an epidemic in the United States and is tied to obesity.

Mr. Huckabee, who lost more than 100 pounds after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2003, says in the video, “Techniques just like you’re going to find in this kit worked for me.”

Asked this month at an appearance in Iowa if he had used cinnamon and chromium picolinate to reverse his diabetes, he said he had not. “No, I reversed it by taking better care of my health,” he said. Pressed about the dietary supplements promoted by the company he endorses, for which he was paid an undisclosed fee, he said: “I’ll do anything that promotes good health. Yes, sir.”

Mr. Huckabee’s spokeswoman, Alice Stewart, said his contract to promote the diabetes cure ended the first week in March. “It was something created several months ago, back in 2014, but due to possible future plans, they have concluded the relationship,” Ms. Stewart said.

Yet, as of this week, the maker of the Diabetes Solution Kit, Barton Publishing of Brandon, S.D., still prominently featured Mr. Huckabee’s endorsement on its website. Its chief executive, Joe Barton, seemed to contradict the statement that his deal with Mr. Huckabee had ended. “We are abiding by all terms set forth in the contract which is confidential in nature,” he said in an email message.

He disputed that there was a scientific consensus that cinnamon, a spice, and chromium picolinate, a mineral, were ineffective in lowering blood sugar levels associated with diabetes. “It flat-out works for people!” he wrote.

Although supplements line the shelves of pharmacies and supermarkets, scientific organizations say the evidence for their help in treating diabetes, the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, comes up short.

The American Diabetes Association advises, “Research has not been able to prove that dietary or herbal supplements (including omega-3 supplements, cinnamon and other herbs) help to manage diabetes.”

David Schardt, senior nutritionist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said: “When you look at good studies, cinnamon and chromium don’t have an effect. There are some crumby studies that show they have some effect.” The poor research, he added, largely was done in China, Iran and Turkey.

Mr. Barton does not appear to sell dietary supplements directly, only booklets about “natural remedies” for a range of ailments, including acid reflux and low testosterone.

A number of customers of Barton Publishing have complained online about exorbitant and unauthorized charges to credit and debit cards. This reporter ordered the 95-page booklet promoted by Mr. Huckabee, for an advertised $19.97 for a downloadable copy and $19.95, plus shipping, for a printed copy, and found a $120.08 charge to his Visa card, which included a $67 coaching video that was not ordered. Mr. Barton said fewer than 1 percent of customers complained about overcharges, which he said were the result of user error.

Mr. Huckabee, who earlier this year released a book, “God, Guns, Grits and Gravy,” celebrates the populist culture and values in the “flyover” states, the political identity he is preparing to run on. His manifesto appeared before he endorsed the diabetes cure, which includes numerous foods to cut from one’s diet. One of those on the list: grits.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: Huckabee Pursues Unconventional Ways to Fund a Campaign. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe